Problem: Christopher buys a basket of coconuts on sale for $\$13$ before tax. The sales tax is $9\%$. What is the total price Christopher pays for the basket of coconuts? (Round to the nearest hundredth or cent.)
Solution: In order to find the total price, first find the amount of sales tax paid by multiplying the sales tax by the original price of the basket of coconuts. ${9\%} \times {$13} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $9\%$ is equivalent to $\frac{9}{100}$ which is also equal to $9 \div 100$ $9 \div 100 = 0.09$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. ${0.09} \times {$13} = {$1.17}$ Add the sales tax you just found to the original price to find the final price Christopher paid. ${$1.17} + {$13.00} = $14.17$ Christopher needs to pay $$14.17.$